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Hoodoo Roots - Spirtual Supplies and ServicesDara Anzlowar offers some amazing genuine hoodoo recipes, readings/spiritual services, and also some downright brilliant advice on how to work your own spells. Recommended to all! :)

Rufus Opus: Head For the RedOne of the best minds in the occult world today, in my opinion, albeit Hoodoo (what I usually discuss) is not his topic of choice. This gem was one I discovered thanks to a client and I strongly recommend his blog to all who are interested in things suchas working with angels, demons, Enochianism, Golden Dawn and talismanic magic (there really is a nice mash of brain food to be had). Great stuff!

Public Retorts to Trolls

February 28, 2013

I am very very learned in many of the world's religions. If you are not familiar with a practice I give when discussing how to work with saints IN A ROOTWORKING WAY, and sometimes in a traditional FOLK CATHOLIC FASHION, then keep on praying like you do, and keep your bigoted and/or ignorant commentary off my blog.

This is a rootwork blog, not a Christianity or Catholic blog. The information presented is to assist people in methods I have found useful that are from African Diasporic Practices' influence, or a belief among particular groups of Catholics when I speak of saints. Just because YOU have never seen this, it does not at all mean that it is not COMMON or ACCEPTED by more than one LARGE group/s of people.

If you do not appreciate what I am teaching, go away. You can start a blog about what a turd I am if it makes you feel better. I really don't care. I have studied religions with a passion for years, I have studied folk magic practices from around the globe, I have studied high and grimoiric traditions as well... I assure you, if you want to go toe to toe with me in a religious argument, I am pretty sure I'm prepared to take you on. :)

Again, this is the rootworking blog, and not the Catholic blog or the "arguing with protestants" blog, either. :P Heck, I actually try to present much of this without any religious context for all my readers, since several of them are not, in any fashion, Christians. :)

February 21, 2013

I beg my long-term-reader's forgiveness here. Apparently several new readers are really quite incapable of going through the archives, so I am no doubt going to repeat myself on old topics. :P

The following represents what I keep getting in my inbox and comments section (on multiple articles) for questions lately.

Q: I want to know how to use the moon in Hoodoo! Is the full moon what I want to use for reconciliation/drawing a new love? Blah blah blah the moon? The moon, moon, moon! Solar traditions be damned, something something something the moon!?

A: Sometimes I'm very happy none of you can see my face here on the other side of my monitor.

So, let's start out with something I've said ad nauseum for the last...8 years? Or is it more? Hmmm, well either way, let's start out with that. Hoodoo is a practice which has it's roots in Africa, most likely from the Bantu peoples, and is therefore more largely centered on SOLAR rather than lunar tradtions, in my (and several others') humble opinion. A LARGE PERCENTAGE of people I know who practice mostly Hoodoo and/or African Diasporic Tradtions, don't even give a flying tossing fuck about what day it is and what the goddamn moon is doing - they might observe it more depending on what spell they are using, but often it's not a concern. Of those that observe the (WESTERN IDEAL) of plantary days and hours, several of them consider THOSE over the moon's passage through the heavens. AND of those who consider the moon, this is so fucking easily worked around, that often they don't even consider the damn moon. If they do? Well, it's great if that's working for you and you have the time to work it in. BUT, of many of my peers who practice ATR's (African-diasporia-related practices) it would seem many of them think that I give way too many fucks over what the moon and planets are doing and what hour and what day it is.

What does that tell you? Because if you've dealt with me when asking a moon question, you could probably hear my eyes rolling as I typed to you. I'm sure you were like: "Are there marbles rolling around on the floor when I hit that send button?" No no, that was me rolling my eyes at your question...so what does that tell you about me and lunar correspondences? Either it tells you I think you are misinformed of such things (which an astounding amount of you are,) or it tells me that you are way too over-concerned about the lunar correspondence (which an astounding amount of you are,) or it tells me that you think I have an unlimited amount of time to discuss the movement of the planetary bodies through the heavens and how their use, if not mandatory because of the paradigm you're working in, could be used to aid your spellcraft which does not require said knowledge (I don't teach Ceremonialism, Enochianism, or Grimoiric spellcraft, so to be fair, this would be outside of what many of you require to adeptly work in Hoodoo.)

BUT, it's the pink elephant in the room. It's in the archives, more than once I think, but I do understand that would mean you would be required to use some of your own effort, and goodness forbid I actually make some of my readers work to learn anything. ;)

So, to over simplify using the most recent questions I've received:
The full moon is absolutely not going to help on a spell to BRING YOU something. This stupid idea is one I do not understand how it came to be. If someone tells you the best day to bring your ex back is the friday nearest to the full moon, you should drive over to their house and just punch them in the face.

Why?

Because lunar movement is used as so - and this is quite the over simplification, and I do go over the moon in detail in a questions you've asked me from 08 I think it is. Look in those nifty ARCHIVES (HINT)...

A little more than a day after the NEW (or black moon) you might notice a tiny sliver of moon in the sky. It will, in approximately 2 weeks, grow into a full moon. This movement is what you want. So, if it's Friday (in Western spellcraft the day of Venus,) and the moon was NEW (black) 2 days previous, the best day to do that spellcraft to bring an ex back is that friday right there. See, I want the MOVEMENT or TRANSITION of the lunar body from appearing "new" to when it goes to "full" to help move my spell energy with it's transition. So you want sometime in the FIRST QUARTER (day after new to half full,) to properly use the lunar body to BRING SOMETHING OR RETURN SOMETHING TO YOU. If you use the second quarter to the full moon, you have far less energy on that influence. I was taught it is better to use the movement after the first quarter, OR THE SECOND QUARTER (day after first quarter to full,) to full to KEEP SOMETHING WITH YOU, not to INCREASE it's influence or BRING someting, albeit you could use it as such, it just has far less energy than using day after new to first quarter.

So let's look at a full moon. What is that moon doing? Is it growing more? Nope. If it's not going to get bigger, but only going to start shrinking, how does that GROW the energy of our work to BRING a thing to us? Oh, it doesn't.

Now let's look at REMOVING AN INFLUENCE or TAKING AWAY something. So the day after that moon is full, what does it start doing? It starts to appear to shrink. So let's say I really hate my neighbor, and I want them and their influence to LEAVE my life. I don't want to harm them, I want them to leave. I would use a particular day close to being after the FULL moon and before the third quarter then.

Do you see how this is going? Many of you are thinking backwards. Since many of you are newbs, I'd like you to consider it as such... The full and the new moon are not going to be useful to you for several things at this point, because you're still learning how to use the lunar correspondences to aid the spell energy. You're confused on what they represent, and to be fair, it's not movement...at least how I was taught. To BRING you use the nearest "good day" after the new (black) and to take away or remove you use the nearest "good day" after the full (white.) Start with those 2 ideas, and soon, if you really like the use of the moon, and you read the archives of this blog (*another hint dropped, lol*) you will find how to use all four quarters as expertly as possible, as well as the new and the full moon. :) But if you're lackadaisical, you really should just stick with "best day after new" and "best day after full" for your integration of using the lunar body to aid with your spellcraft.

THAT SAID, the moon is not often all that relevant in Hoodoo, and the majority of what I teach is Hoodoo (yet another hint dropped.) :)

Q: Will a saint kick my behind or attack me if I make a bad request to them or are in some way disrespectful to them?

A: While I've known a saint (particularly Expedite,) to take back what was given, this was not done in a cruel way like the statue animated and screamed "FUCK YOU," nor was anyone attacked - spiritually, physically, etc. I have also known a saint not to give someone something requested because that person did not "pay up" with whatever gift was offered to a saint - and I've seen this happen in situations where the first request was granted, but the saint was unpaid so the second was not, or where the first request was not granted for the not giving of the gift. I've known the answer to a petition to a saint to be "No." I've also known a saint to not help because someone was acting rude and uncouth towards the saint.

HOWEVER, never ever ever ever ever have I PERSONALLY seen a saint harm someone maliciously for making a request of them. Yes, sometimes something was taken back (Expedite is known for this if not properly rewarded,) but there was no additional spiritual attack. I have heard rumors that some people due to their sex or their character should not petition certain saints or should not expect help from those saints.... I would say in those cases, that if you do not have a relationship with that saint, it may be better to err on the side of caution. NOT because I believe the saint will harm you, but because you probably have no relationship with that saint anyhow, and you might as well pick one who isn't apt to find something about you disturbing, and refuse to work for you.

While I'm sure someone will want to naysay me in the comments, I'm going to say it's incredibly unlikely to the point of being incredibly improbable, that a recognized Catholic saint (as in the Catholic Church recognizes that person or being as a saint,) will harm or attack you.

Q: I am sad because I saw you and Karma making fun of my review site. Why are you so mean? My intentions were not bad, so don't you think you're out of line?

See, now this is my personal issue with "review" scams, be they well-intentioned or absolutely fake...

Let's start with the people who vet the lists on the well-intentioned ones would be much like if I instructed you on how to fix a rocket that goes into space. I have some idea of how that works, but I am not a rocket scientist, and if you saw the damn things I came out with in wood shop in the 7th grade, I'm quite certain you'd not even trust me to build a damn spice rack. :) It would seem construction of vehicles and of furniture is not my forte, which isn't surprising, since I never ever ever did study it, or even practice it much - I never ever tried building a vehicle, much less one that is to transit outside of the Earth's atmosphere. On that note... I can think of a wonderful carpenter who is a sexy beast that I know quite well...even if he blathered on about carpentry and contracting in general for the next 12 weeks discussing nothing else whatsoever to me, I'd still be a complete knob on the subject. Maybe by that point I'd know more than the average bear who doesn't at all work in contracting or carpentry and never did, but I certainly would not go about acting as if I was an expert who can vet who's good at such things, who has a talent and how awesome they are with their business (note the person referenced above is a sexy beast which probably is part of the reason I think he's awesome, therefore is not actually a good method of vetting his talent at his trade.) Why? I'm not a fucking carpenter or contractor. I dated a male nurse long ago, but I'm not a fucking nurse, and I'd give more creedence to his medical advice then mine own. My dad is a lawyer, and I do know more than the average bear about American-, and particularly New Hampshire-, law, but I am not a lawyer and cannot advise as well as a lawyer can about what the laws are. Usually I just call my lawyer or my father if I need legal advice. I don't consult with someone married to a lawyer, related to a lawyer, or who once used a lawyer for my legal needs.

Is my long tanget going somewhere? Of course. See, someone who used a spellcaster once, or read a book once, likes crapity books that they are too naive to tell are JUST CRAP, or cast like 5 candle spells, or maybe used a few spellkits is in no way, shape, or form anyone who is an expert on spells or spellcasting. Now, I'm going to dig deeper...someone who tries out a few spellcasters who has little or no knowlege regarding the occult, or who is only centric to one type of religion/occult (like Wicca, for example, which is not in any way related to Hoodoo, and would therefore not be a good thing to compare Hoodoo with,) would have a difficult time vetting anything about any spellcaster outside of their chosen field of narrow focus, if they ever studied the arts at all. An astrologer who only ever studied astrology, would be a terrible judge of Palo. They'd be as clueless as can be. That guy who used a thousand psychics? Maybe he's good with telling you what psychics he felt were on point, but he's not going to have the experience or knowledge (IMHO) to tell you which Hermetic Mage is just name-dropping with Goetic spirits, and who's actually had full manifestation. It's no different than me having a loose understanding of carpentry, or of law, or of health because of my own experience and acting as if I'm as learned on those topics as an expert in those topics.

Further, the idea that anyone who can spellcast can take on 10-20 new requests a day sure as shit sounds as false as the Easter Bunny giving me Christmas presents, because...that's like assuming the carpenter builds 25 sets of stairs (and I mean full sets of stairs, 25 of them,) in 2 hours. :P Or perhaps a brain surgeon fixes 45 brains in 3 hours, because like, he said so. :P

So as you can see, naivity is a bad instructor. Furthermore, a non-expert opinion on who is and isn't "real" is a bit like having your old friend Cat here build you a spice rack (that is crooked and scary, but I took wood shop years ago, so like, I totally know what I'm doing, right?) And lastly believing that a real spellcaster can have a zillion active cases or WANTS that many is wrong. Most of us that I know go through weeks where we work 12 hour days easily, and if you think we need another obsessive crying jag to make that day last 14 hours instead, you would be mistaken. At least among the workers I know.

What I'm saying is, pardon me, but my professional opinion of those sites is low NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS (good intentions are a good thing, of course,) but the opinions there on what makes a real spellcaster and what doesn't are so often so far from the reality of what does make a real spellcaster and what doesn't, that I think they are more harmful than they are good. I've seen people I know are as "real" as the nose on my face (and I have a nose on my face at this writing, lol) in the "fake" list, and even more fakes than real people in the "real" list. This is not because the siteowner means ill, and I think their intentions are honest and good. This is because those being given the "right" to judge are often not knowledgeable enough to vet who is and who isn't "real," and they depend on the commentary of people even less expert than themselves to help vet who is real and who isn't. If you want to trust those sites, they DO list some good real people, but you best be quite careful, because as I said, they also list fakes in the real list and real people in the fake list. :/

Moving along....

So, I had mentioned there are fake review sites made by workers. Or supposedly vetted by experts on their craft. - I'm going to stand out here and just abstain from speaking of sites where a lot of "experts" (some of who I'd quantify more as "intermediate" but who are still apt to be far more of an expert than 90% of my readership) work together as a unified whole. That is not counted here. :P - What I am speaking of are fake review sites made by people posing as their own clients, or workers who frequently list "real and fake" people in a list on their business site. Again, if they are part of a unified group, I don't count that. What I mean is there will be one toolbox who is working 5 sites (same person pretending to be 5 people) listing themselves as the only real worker/s, and everyone else is a fraud because they say so. :P This scam used to be far more common. The problem here is most workers who are ethical do not like to slam other workers. Sometimes we get aggravated by an obvious fake selling "Gypsy Faery Voodoo Wicca Grecian Buddhist Black Magic Luv Spells," but by and large no ethical worker will list everyone they think is likely a scammer...because that's unethical. It's like if Pepsi only made commercials about how Coca Cola was rat poision, and if Coke turned around and told you in every commercial that Pepsi is made with dog pee. You'd be turned off by it, and want neither product. It would show low ethics on the part of the company. MOST ethical workers I know, if not all, do not lower themselves to frequently naming names on who is the biggest charlatan this week. They do not bad-mouth the frauds. They sometimes will discuss peers who are friends, and do not want to list every real worker because in doing so, some people (very confused people) think it's your fault for recommending a merchant, so in your recommendation you must act as the customer service for any site. Further, if you outwardly recommend a business, then if you reject someone for being disgusting, insane, or hopeless (which believe me, is common enough to be a concern, and there are some really vile people out there - if you're concerned you are one, you're probably not, and have NOTHING to worry about) they will look up your links and bug the shit out of your friends. Which is why some clients have such bad reputations that other workers are warned before that client makes contact with any other worker. Yes, clients get reputations too. :P

So how do you avoid being defrauded? First, don't use google. Second, don't use review sites. Third, learn a bit about your prospective worker. Ask the worker questions. Study a bit about their type of spellcraft. Fourth, be wary of anyone who sells anything that says it's Gypsy Voodoo Faery Wicca, or etc. Faery Wicca might make sense. Gypsy is more like a race of people who are often Eastern Orthodox, the Romanii. Voodoo is a religion, and though it has offshoots that are not Haitian Voodoo (which means the person had to be kanzoed in Haiti,) I have not yet seen a good example of Wicca Voodoo because both are religions, and neither share much syncretism from my perspective. If you can clearly show me a reasonable example of Wiccan Voodoo or Voodoo Wicca, and it doesn't sound like ass-hattery, by all means, correct me. My experience is that with Voodoo of most types it seems to find the most syncretism with Catholic and "Catholic lite" religions.

I know you're asking "Why not use Google because Google is always right, isn't it?" if you are, I will strongly suggest you read the above linked (and here linked) commentary between Miz Karma and yours truly in her comments section of that article.

So...do I feel I'm mean or out of line in criticizing such sites. I appreciate the good intentions behind some of them quite a bit. It does not mean I believe they are reaching their aim or helping lots of workers and lots of clients. Good intentions are a great thing, but sometimes they just pave the path to hell. Maybe that's my personal experience and not your own. If I've alienated anyone in saying as much, then just go on thinking I'm a cranky mean bitch, because to use a bit of text-speak, I am not speaking from a point of naivity, nor of hate, so if you're that over-sensitive, idgaf if I hurt your feelings...I assume you'd probably go into shock if the sun hits you if I just hurt your feelings, because that's waaaay too sensitive. :)

Q: Why is my spell not working? I cast it according to your blog, and it hasn't worked yet.

A: Firstly, while I'm glad to clarify my own instructions, spell coaching is not a free service. I do not give substitutions very often (sometimes if I'm not too busy I will, but that's a bit like waiting for a shooting star, lol,) and I don't find spells or stores for you to use very often if at all, so... if you need that sort of advice, or you already got 2 pages from me in response (which is at least an hour of unpaid work from me usually,) then I suggest you ask for some paid advice...as in offer to pay me for my time since this job is how I make my living. I cannot, unfortunately, pay my bills giving away hours and hours of my time for free to instruct you. I'm glad to get on the phone or write it out if you're willing to pay me for my time, however.

Secondly, if you're willing to spend the time letting me know how long it was since you cast, if you've ever read this article (the main reasons for spell failure that I've seen,) exactly what the problem is you need to fix, and how long this has been going on before you first tried spellcasting, whatever other spells you've done, and (if it wasn't the only spell you tried) which spell of mine you did with a link and how long since you did that spell, and you can write this for me and reasonably assume it will take less than 15 minutes for me to reply, then I *might* be able to help FOR FREE. I am not ungenerous with short answers. ;)

Thirdly, I want you to keep in mind sometimes the answer is you can't have what you want. I am not God, Goddess, the Divine, the Universe, Jesus, Buddha, Vishnu or any other being who is your holy conceirge, or who determines who gets what. Sometimes the answer is you can't have that. It's not going to happen. I am sorry if this is disappointing, but take your complaints to the Almighty/Spirit/God/Universe/etc.

My point here is that I present information, and you can use this to your benefit. I do not guarantee results from any spells herein because I am not the final authority on who gets what. That being/energy/force would be far above my own station. I merely am presenting spellwork that has worked for me and for others, much of which is my own original creation. :)

Q: I do not pray to Satan. Why do you? Aren't you scared of hell?

A: Having never - in my memory - bent the knee to any being called Satan, I can't really quantify that I can say I've prayed to Satan, therefore I don't get your point. I suppose it is possible I've had discussions or interactions with beings you consider to be unholy because you have a religious bigotry clouding your mind. I do however, have a great dislike and distrust of anyone who assumes immediately that anyone who is not practicing a particular type of religion is therefore working for the evil trickster God you worship by fearing him/her/it. So, I am not afraid of going to hell, and the only mention I can think of recently where I said "Satan" in prayer was the following Prayer to St Michael:

"Saint Michael the Archangel, protect us in battle. Be our protection from wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, thrust into hell Satan and all other evil spirits who wander the world seeking the ruin and destruction of souls. Amen."

Huh, that doesn't really sound like a satanitc prayer....so nope, no idea of what you are talking about, though that question of yours does seem a touch ignorant. :)

Q: I don't think you're a real rootworker, because I think you're mean. Why do you call yourself a rootworker? (to be fair, this is the same person as the praying to Satan knob.)

A: Kindness and niceness have no correlation to magical ability, so that is irrelevant, and yes I'm a real rootworker. Lucky for you I'm not as mean as you think, because if I were, you'd be dying of a wasting disease no one can cure right now, rather than just living your life as fine and as healthy as can be as a rude, stupid ignorant knob like you are. :)

Q: Would you kill my rival's unborn baby for me?

A: I WILL NEVER HARM A CHILD. Only a low life piece of shit would kill an innocent unborn baby because they are jealous of a rival. If you think that I would lower myself to being a murderess because you're jealous, then you're talking to the wrong woman. I do not kill innocents because you feel like someone hurt you by getting pregnant. What did that baby do to you? It got conceived? And that is the baby's fault and not the fault of the man or the woman who had sexual intercourse? Oh, it's their fault? But you'd kill an innocent child just to have your way. You'd murder a fucking baby because you need to have your way? GTFO out of my virtual office, and I truly hope something falls out of the sky and kills you for requesting such a thing. You are one evil little fucking worthless sack of shit to want to do such a thing to another woman's unborn child just because you're a jealous twat. I truly want no contact with you, ever ever ever.

Now what if it's you're pregnant? You don't want that baby? Honey, that's your problem. There are all sorts of choices you have available to you, including, probably, terminating that pregnancy medically. I think that's your chioice, and you do what you see fit. But it won't be anything I help you with magically. I don't want to know what you did or why you did it. If you got raped and got pregnant, yeah I feel badly for you, I do. But you have to decide what's right for you, and keep my spells out of it, hun. I'm sorry, I'm not the magical abortionist. I'm also not going to tell you to keep it, or to give it up for adoption, or whatever. It's up to you, search your heart and your soul, and you do what feels right for you. It might not be what I would choose, but I'm not you, it's not my body, and it's not my choice.

For the rest of you wondering why this came up, no less than seven fucking jealous twats (who I sincerly hope live cursed lives) asked me to kill an unborn child in their rivals' wombs in February alone. I truly hope that they never get their wishes for such a thing, and while not generally nearly vindictive as I might come off, I do also wish them a lifetime of misfortune and misery if they do get their way. :) I seriously consider this the lowest of the low and have no polite words to discuss these degenterates, so I apologize for the language, but each one of them made me want to barf as soon as I saw their inquiries because they are such horrid examples of human nature that they truly deserve no kindness from me or anyone else.

And I do have sympathy for women with their own unwanted pregnancies but there are solutions to that problem that are in no way requiring magical intervention (no one asked me for an aborteficent this month, but I've heard it before,) and to be fair, it's never ever going to be my job to tell you what decisions to make concerning your own body. I personally do not want to help kill a child, and I can respect that it's your decision to terminate or to keep the pregnancy, and I judge you on neither action (because it's not my business,) but I'm not going to help you terminate a pregnancy. Sorry. :/

Q: I heard you reject like 90% of the business coming your way, if not more, but then you always seem so busy - how is that?

A: I'm very thorough with my active clients - or I try to be. Admittedly some are super quiet and I don't speak to them enough because I don't know thier concerns if they do not share them.

It's not easy to become one of my clients, but I do have several active cases at any time, and I do try to make sure I work with those people as best I can. It can be a time consuming process. One high maintenance person will take the time of 5-10 average clients, so I'm busy. I prefer return business (that was never banned - and if you're banned I will ignore you,) so a lot of those who propose we work on their problem are people I've worked with frequently in the past.

Plus, just rejecting people or giving 10 minutes of free spell advice is also time consuming.

Soooo....I have more business than I can handle sometimes. It would be unethical and unrealistic to take even half my currrent inquires because not enough time in the day exists to help those people, and sadly more than a few do not bother to read instructions, nor do they have realistic requests, so I do have to say no if it's obvious they are problematic or I feel their request is outside my ability, or even the ability of anyone else in some cases. ;)

*****

I'm sorry if many of these questions were not instructive enough. Unfortunately my inbox, as of late, has been filled more with what NINJACAT here will and won't do and what my opinion of this or that is....perhaps SOON I can get some more practice and theory of HOODOO and SPELLCRAFT questions and less of these questions more relating to my business. I do hope so. ;)

Thanks for reading!

~Cat

This work, in its entirety, is copyright protected and cannot be copied, copied and pasted, or shared or used without the author's (my) express written permission. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED (I also took the photos, so hands off.)